Every year, the College Board releases  new college cost data and trends in its annual report. The figures published are average costs for public in-state, public out-of-state, and private colleges based on a survey of approximately 4,000 colleges across the country.

Over the past 20 years, average costs for tuition, fees, housing, and food has increased 32% at public colleges and 27% at private colleges over and above increases in the Consumer Price Index, straining the budgets of many families and leading to widespread student debt.

Here are cost highlights for the 2024–2025 year. (“Total cost of attendance” includes direct billed costs for tuition, fees, housing, and food, plus indirect costs for books, transportation, and personal expenses.)

Public four-year: in-state

• Tuition and fees increased 2.7% to $11,610
• Housing and food increased 4.2% to $13,310
• Total cost of attendance: $29,910

Public four-year: out-of-state

• Tuition and fees increased 3.2% to $30,780
• Housing and food increased 4.2% to $13,310 (same as in-state)
• Total cost of attendance: $49,080

Private four-year

• Tuition and fees increased 3.9% to $43,350
• Housing and food increased 4.1% to $15,250
• Total cost of attendance: $62,990

Sticker price vs. net price

The College  Board’s cost figures are based on published college sticker prices. But many families don’t pay the full sticker price. A net price calculator, available on every college website, can help families see what they might pay beyond a college’s sticker price. It can be a very useful tool for students who are currently researching and/or applying to colleges.

A net price calculator provides an estimate of how much grant aid a student might be eligible for at a particular college based on the student’s financial information and academic record, giving families an estimate of what their out-of-pocket cost — or net price — will be. The results aren’t a guarantee of grant aid, but they are meant to give as accurate a picture as possible.

Federal student loans: interest rates and legal challenges to SAVE Plan

To finance college, many families take out student loans to supplement their savings and income. Federal student loan interest rates for the 2024–2025 school year are the highest they’ve been in years: 6.53% for undergraduate Direct Loans (up from 5.50% the previous year), 8.08% for graduate Direct Loans (up from 7.05%), and 9.08% for graduate and parent Direct PLUS Loans (up from 8.05%).

Regarding loan repayment, federal student loan repayment resumed in October 2023 for millions of borrowers after almost three-and-a-half years of payment pauses due to the pandemic. Around the same time, the Department of Education launched a generous new income-driven repayment plan called Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE. The SAVE Plan included multiple new benefits for borrowers, including monthly payments capped at 5% of discretionary income for undergraduate loans and at 10% of discretionary income for graduate loans.

After the SAVE Plan was launched, it faced multiple legal challenges. In June 2024, two separate federal courts in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked key parts of SAVE. In response, the Department of Education placed all borrowers enrolled in SAVE into administrative forbearance, which meant borrowers weren’t required to make any payments and interest didn’t accrue. Then in August 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit blocked SAVE in its entirety, saying the injunction would remain in place pending further order of the court or the U.S. Supreme Court. The result is that borrowers enrolled in SAVE will continue to be in limbo while the legal process plays out.

FAFSA delayed until December, again

Typically, the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens on October 1 for the upcoming school year. However, for the second year in a row, the FAFSA has been delayed. The 2025–2026 FAFSA will open in December 2024.

Last year, the Department of Education launched a new, shorter FAFSA that contained several changes, including:

• A new Student Aid Index (SAI) that replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) terminology
• No reduced parent contribution for parents with multiple children in college at the same time
• No requirement to report cash support and other money paid on a student’s behalf on the FAFSA, for example a monetary gift from a relative or a distribution from a grandparent-owned 529 plan

A reminder that the 2025–2026 FAFSA will rely on income information from your 2023 federal tax return (sometimes referred to as the “prior-prior year” or the “base year”). However, the FAFSA will use asset information as of the date you submit the form.

Sources: College Board, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2024; U.S. Department of Education, 2024